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October 23, 2006
I'm getting to spend more time with campesinos from different areas of the country. Their stories are at times profound, at times vulgar, and always entertaining. Here are some of them:
Frank: Cuando sales a bailar, ponte un huevo en el ombligo. Si tú terminas y el huevo no está sancochado, tú no has bailado.
(When you go out dancing, put an egg under your belt buckle up against your belly button. If you get done dancing and the egg isn't hard-boiled, you haven't really danced.)
Sabelo: A friend of mine gave his body all the pleasures it asked for. One day his body asked him for a big meal at a fine restaurant -- appetizers, entrees, desserts, wine, the whole bit -- and my friend gave in.
Another day his body asked him for a bottle of rum, accompanied by ample amounts of ice and Coke, to share with his friends. Again, he gave in.
Later that week his body asked him to go to a club so it could enjoy dancing with beautiful women. A third time my friend gave in.
Finally the day came when my friend's body asked him to find some work. He said, "Sorry, I'm afraid we're going to have to start limiting ourselves. You can only give in to so many pleasures in one life."
One of the guys in the group is nicknamed "El Guti" (EL GOO-tee). Of all the people I've met here, 53-year-old El Guti is by far and away the most in love with his own name. When someone calls him, immediately and amid ecstatic convulsions, he shouts, "¡Ese soy yo!" That's me!
You might call El Guti! three, four or fifteen times, and always it's the same response: [wriggling with glee, hand shooting into the air]: "¡Ese soy yo! ¡Ese soy yo!"
El Guti claims to be tastier than a chicken bullion factory. (Hmm. Perhaps this is more of a compliment in Spanish.)
El Guti ("¡Ese soy yo!") was an evangelical Christian for nine months. During the time when they all closed their eyes, El Guti kept one eye open. He watched the pastor fondle a child while praying. El Guti got up and stormed out right then, and at the door of the church he swore he would never trust anything or anyone again -- not God, not people, nothing.
"But I broke that promise," he told us. "How do you mean?" I asked. "What do you think I'm doing here with you today?" El Guti said.
October 17, 2006
As a continuation of our "Myths and Lies about our World" series, I'm posting an e-mail conversation I had with a friend on the subject of science and positivism.
The conversation started with my report on the II International Summit of Justicia Global, where we discussed seven "pillars of domination" through which the powers that be alienate us from one another and from our human potential. (This is so important to those in power because alienated, fearful, insecure people don't tend to challenge power structures). Read that post or a fuller discussion of the pillars.
Here is the specific point of contention, where I wrote:
Positivism: This is domination based in scientific knowledge. Positivism has a linear conception of time, history and progress, and thus alleges that the current capitalist society is the endpoint or culmination of human development. It argues that science is completely objective, neutral, and the only valid form of knowledge.
The call of Justicia Global is to challenge all of the pillars at once. We get no closer to a culture of solidarity and peace if we attack racism by appealing to nationalist sentiments, or if we fight to save the environment but reproduce gender inequalities within our group. Only a struggle against violence in all its manifestations will lead to that better world we're always talking about.
Read my friend's response and our subsequent discussion
October 10, 2006
If I'd made a guess about the most fascinating, exciting, utterly engrossing thing about our Garden Day on Saturday, I wouldn't have guessed worms.
I can confidently say the day was a success largely because of composting worms. At first the kids were shy, but after they were convinced the worms didn't bite, they hardly let the poor wigglers out of their fists.
The total turnout was 18, 12 kids and 6 of us bigger kids. We planted tomato, pepper and eggplant seedlings, observed the composting process and learned about how pineapples grow:
You chop the green top off the pineapple and plant it. In a couple of weeks the roots will have grown and it will start to open up (left). Within 6-7 months it will look like the center photo, which was taken in front of the Justicia Global house. After 3-4 more months, a little pineapple will grow right up out of the middle of the plant (right). Neat!
After some planting and a lot more worm-clutching, it was time to make lunch. We washed our hands very thoroughly and then we talked about what foods were the most nutritious. We decided to make a lunch based almost completely on vegetables. Lucky for me, I had just the right vegetables on hand.
The kids peeled cucumbers and carrots and snuck bits of each when they thought I wasn't watching. I told them that was one of the perks of being a cook -- you can taste the recipe as you go along.
When we were done with the knives, we did an inventory and everyone still had all ten fingers and both eyes. We then dug into the cucumber salad, sweetened cooked carrots and wheat-based tabouli dish with veggies. Most of the kids went into the kitchen looking for seconds.
All in all, a grand success for the first big activity I planned and headed up myself. Much excitement was had -- attesting to that are 12 energetic children and 12 completely exhausted composting worms.
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